Hearken to Spring: Spring Ephemerals
Welcome Spring
Spring comes with winter still in hand. Frozen to way-too-squishy mud makes for frustrating, if not entertaining, travel conditions along dirt roads. The freshet breaks through the ice (what little there may have been this year) and carries mini-icebergs to melt downstream while the anadromous fish swim their way upriver to spawn. Neo-tropical birds return and you suddenly hear a strange male fluttering amongst the thicket calling for his “Phoebe” in raspy voice. And let’s not forget those odd duck sounds you can hear in the wetlands. You look and you look but no duck is croaking “Qua-akk,” instead you find a little amphibious masked bandit called the
Wood Frog, who is making all that racket, along with all his brothers as they call out from their little territorial plot. Sprouts dare the dramatically fluctuating temperatures between warm days and cold nights, bursting forth in an array of woodland beauties. Spring beckons us to come closer and take it in with all our senses. Breathe in the freshness of new life emerging. Gaze at the triumph of the little seedlings that could. Listen to the sonnets of euphoric male birds as they claim their territory and welcome their lady in. Feel the soft buds of pussy willows. Taste the tender greens and be enlivened by spring!
A few Spring Ephemerals
An ephemeral plant has a short growing season and in fact, may not be thriving much past the beginning of May. There is only a short window to enjoy these delicate herbaceous April beauties before they let the riot of summer take over. Like the creatures of the vernal pools it is a race to grow and produce before being shaded out by the undergrowth and trees or wilted by the heat of the sun.
A dark beauty stands napping in the woods. Maroon flower heads nodding gently. This is the Wake-Robin Trillium (Trillium erectum) of the Bunchflower family (Melanthiaceae). Named such for signifying the time when the ground is finally soft enough to bury your dead. The flower is comprised of three red-purple petals and three green sepals and is pollinated by flies. As you may guess, a flower pollinated by early spring flies may not attract such critters with a sweet scent but a more unpleasant odor. It is for this reason another name for this trillium is “Stinky Benjamin.” One could create a story about some old uncle Benjamin dying and as his carcass sat rotting upon the early spring Earth, dark blood-like flowers sprouted from his body. Go ahead, I dare you to make up an amusing story about ol’ Stinky Benjamin.
As the rich woodlands continue to soften and warm, trout lilies begin to carpet the forest floor. The Yellow Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum) of the Lily family (Liliaceae) has purple-brown speckled green leaves, hence why it is named after the Brown Trout which has speckles along its sides. The flowers are brown-streaked yellow with three recurved petals and three sepals. The leaves will come first, so keep an eye out for the mottled leaves because they are a tender green and can be eaten raw in a salad. As with any new food that you are experimenting with, nibble on a small amount to be sure your body is happy with the addition.
Ah, and then there is Toothwort, my favorite spring ephemeral wild edible. The leaves and flowers taste like horseradish and have just the perfect bite back of any plant stating loudly and with feeling, “You can’t taste me and not know Spring’s tenacity!” You can find Toothwort in moist woodlands and near woodland streams, even intermittent ones. Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) is a member of the Brassicaceae family (mustard) and so is related to Brussel sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, and horseradish. Juicy stems taper into three wide-toothed green leaflets. Some leaves have a reddish hue so yes, if you are not paying attention, they may look like poison ivy (so pay attention). The flowers are white with four petals. All aerial parts are edible. They are yummy raw in a salad or eaten as a trailside nibble. I also like them cooked up in an omelet.
When identifying any plant you hope to be food, it is always recommended to bring along three wild edible trail guides and be sure that at least two confirm edibility and under what conditions or bring along an experienced naturalist and watch them eat the plant first – just to be on the safe side. Happy spring!
“Spring Ephemerals” appeared in the April 7, 2016 edition of the Shelburne Falls & West County Independent.
(That’s right; I was picked up by another newspaper! Huzzah!)
Arianna Alexsandra Collins, naturalist, poet, and wild edible enthusiast lives in Ashfield.
You can reach me at OfferingsForCommunityBuilding.com or HearkenToAvalon.com
Hearken to Avalon 
I was tickled to read this article-length testimonial of my wild edibles walk in The Ashfield News.
Sunday Morning Surprise
May 6, 2018
Do I really want to get up and walk around the rain to look at plants? I yawn and think,” Well, she said rain or shine, so I’d better get up and go.” I put on my Wellies and rain gear and attempt to arrive on time. Out Baptist Corner Road, passed the Pieropan Christmas Tree Farm, oh where is this place? Am I late? I see the red barn and another car and I park on the side of the road. My mood brightens when I see Arianna. She without rain gear standing in the misty drizzle, smiling at us in a flowered dress. She is friendly and positive and introduces us to the other group members. I am soon to learn that her knowledge of wild edible plants is equal to (or perhaps cousin to) her enthusiasm about these plants. I brought neither camera nor notebook and in this lazy mode, I looked, tasted, and listened to facts about the plants we often quite literally stumbled upon. It seemed like almost everywhere there was something to eat. But the trick was to learn what part of the plant to eat and when, and what plants to avoid. Some plants can be dangerously toxic. And if you think all ferns produce edible fiddleheads, think again.
We visited an exposed hillside and the swamp area, where yellow marsh marigolds brightened up the gray day. But beware, this is a plant not to be eaten raw. I am no expert so you need to research how to safely prepare this plant, or better yet, ask Arianna.
With unnecessary apologies for the small space, our little group was invited inside Arianna’s home for a meal which she had prepared earlier. All dishes were tasty!! I loved the pear-apple non-alcoholic cider and others enjoyed the apple-pear-crabapple hard cider. The feast included sautéed fiddle heads, marsh marigold mush. nettle soup with moose meat, an amazing nettle pesto dish with venison meatballs, and a delicious cheese and egg soufflé with toothwort, dandelion, and ramps.
I intend to purchase at least two of the books which Arianna suggested. They are Samuel Thayer’s The Forager’s Harvest: Incredible Wild Edibles and Blanche Derby’s Favorite Edibles Plants, a wild edibles cookbook.
I will definitely attend another “wild edibles walk and sampling”, this time with camera and notebook.
Thank you, Arianna!
G. Abbott
LikeLike